Hallways are often a neglected area of the home because they are often only used to travel through rather than spend any real amount of time in. They serve an important role in connecting various parts of your property and creating an entrance way but many people don’t put much effort into designing them. This could see you missing out on the opportunity to give your property a beautiful sense of flow and connection.

A great idea for hallways is to choose ingenious storage solutions as these can free up spaces in other rooms. Something as simple as a cabinet for you to store your mail in or a shoe rack to keep everything in order can work wonders. The lack of furniture in hallways means the pieces you select need to be attention grabbers. You also need to ensure they suit the space they are in; never choose something that will make the hallway feel cramped and difficult to walk through. Opening out hallways and making them feel more spacious and inviting is very important.

The biggest key with a hallway is lighting. The last thing you want is dark miserable passages that people have to hurry through. Instead you should try to lighten spaces and make them more comfortable. Using light colours and timber is a really good way to do this. If you want more colour you can choose darker shades to add contrast to the lighter ones. Most importantly, pick the right flooring because this will add extra depth. Patterned tiles, parquet or an eye-catching rug can produce a great effect.

Having nice things to look at in the hallway encourages people to slow down and take their time travelling through the halls. This in turn means they spend more time in the spaces and come to appreciate them more. Simple things like having art on the walls can do wonders. When decorating you need to select the pieces carefully so you can maximise the impression they make. Having too many things on the walls makes everything look cluttered and ruins the look. A few carefully selected and positioned pieces work best.

Adding a chair to the hallway is a good idea if you have enough space. This makes the hall look more lived in and also gives people a place to sit when they take shoes off or put them on. If you choose something upholstered make sure it fits with the overall style you are going for.

For further advice on any aspects of design or interiors in Oxfordshire, get in touch with us and find out what we can do for your home.